Parts of ‘Hollywood sign’ ripped off by Storm Eunice

PARTS of a controversial ‘Hollywood sign’ welcoming people into a Welsh town which cost more than £130,000 have been ripped off and blown away by Storm Eunice.

The sign is located on a grassy bank to the side of the eastbound carriageway of the A40 on the way into Carmarthen from the direction of St Clears.

It displayed the words ‘Caerfyrddin’ and ‘Carmarthen’ and was erected in May 2021, two years after it was first given approval.

The sign caused controversy due to its design, location and cost. It was part of a wider scheme which cost a total of £344,000. When pushed on the exact cost of the sign itself, Carmarthenshire Council confirmed it to be £136,000.

Now, less than a year after it

was constructed and put in place alongside the A40, thousands of pounds worth of the sign is missing after several letters blew away on Friday as large parts of Wales, including Carmarthen, were battered by Storm Eunice.

Five letters were ripped off the sign by strong winds, so the Welsh portion of the display

now reads ‘Caerfy’.

Taking into account the overall cost of the sign, each panel cost more than £2,200, meaning more than £10,000 worth of signage has been blown away.

When the sign was unveiled in May last year, it would be kind to say that the public’s response to the end result was mixed. Some labelled it an “absolute joke” and one local resident said it represented “a complete and utter waste of money”. Others were more positive, however, with one person saying “I like it - not sure why so many are against it”, while another joked “at least it will give everyone something to look at every Saturday during the summer when sat in traffic jams”.

The authority’s head of regeneration, Jason Jones, said: “The area and sign has been assessed and secured. We are focusing on our clean-up and recovery operations following Storm Eunice now that the winds have started to subside and it is safe to do so. The missing letters have been retrieved and the sign will be made good as soon as possible.”

BARRIE LEWIS Eight letters were blown off the town’s ‘Hollywood’ sign with some drivers reporting at least two of the panels blowing across the carriageway.